Former US president calls crypto a 'disaster waiting to happen'

In an interview with Fox Business released on Tuesday, former United States President Donald Trump was questioned about his views on the health of the Wall Street markets, the current administration's progress and the potential of Bitcoin (BTC) and the cryptocurrency market.

In response to the latter question, the former president stated: “I like the currency of the United States. I think the others are potentially a disaster waiting to happen.” He continued:

“They [cryptocurrencies] may be fake. Who knows what they are? They are certainly something that people don’t know very much about.”

He also spoke on protecting the sovereignty of the U.S. dollar as the first priority, rather than advancing the stagnant financial system and grasping the overwhelming benefits that crypto and blockchain technologies have to offer.

Despite these less-than-favorable comments, crypto prices appeared unaffected at the time of publication. Bitcoin has recorded a decline of 1.17% on the day, Ether (ETH) has risen 6.30% and the third-ranked asset, Cardano's ADA token, is down 1.1%.

In contrast, current U.S. President Joe Biden has adopted a seemingly more favorable stance on the cryptocurrency space, yet he still remains diligently cautious.

Earlier this year, President Biden appointed Gary Gensler, former chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, as the new Securities and Exchange Commission’s lead.

Related: SEC reportedly contracts blockchain analytics firm to monitor DeFi industry

Gensler has so far adopted a stern regulatory approach that focuses on striking a balance between aiding innovation and protecting the interests of market participants.

Earlier this month, Gensler expressed his beliefs that the market needs “additional authorities to prevent transactions, products, and platforms from falling between regulatory cracks,” as well as “more resources to protect investors in this growing and volatile sector.”